There was a family that settled in the Hart precinct in the southwestern area of Covington County who was referred to in records as Jeffers, Jefferies, Jeffries or Jeffreys. It appears that the most common use of the name was Jeffries, and it was English origin. There was a marriage between a member of this family and one of the Worrell family, which was reviewed in last week’s column.

The earliest ancestor of the Jeffries family found by this writer was Nathanel Jeffers who was born in 1579 in England and died in 1633 in this country in the State of Virginia. Although the year of his migration is not known, he had a son, Hugh Jeffers, born in 1630 in Virginia. Hugh died in 1651 in James City, Va. Hugh then had a son, Thomas Mathew Jeffers, who was born during 1651, the year of Hugh’s death. Thomas Mathew was residing in James City, Va., when his son, Simon Gray Jeffreys was born in 1675. He died in 1672 at a very young age.

Simon Jeffreys was married to Elizabeth Pottle. They had a son, Paul Jeffers, who was born in 1730 in Bertie, N.C. Simon died there in 1732, just two years after Paul’s birth. Paul eventually moved to Richland, S.C. where he died in 1758. Paul had a son, Berry Jeffers, who was born in 1750 S.C. and died in 1820 in Richland, S.C. He was married to Hannah Griffin (1770-1844)), daughter of John (1746-1790) and Miles (Bunch) (b. 1740 S.C.) Griffin.

Berry and Hannah Jeffers reared the following children: Sally, b. 1783, d. 1851; Griffin, b. 1789, d. 1851; Gideon, b. 1790; Rachael, b. 1793; Asa, b. 1795; Osborne, b. 1797; Nancy, b. 1799; Harriet, b. 1801; and Joanna, b. 1804.

The son, Gideon Jeffers, had migrated to Covington County by the time the 1850 Federal Census was taken. At that time he was enumerated as 57 years old and a laborer. His wife, Sarah, was 46 years old, she she would have been born ca 1804. They had the following children in their household: Martha J, 20; William, 15; Nancy, 12; James, 8; and Peggy, 2. Sarah Presley, who was 18, was also residing with the family. There was a record of a Sarah Jeffers, b. 1832, being married in 1850 in Covington County to Joseph Presley (1830 N.C.-1896). It was also reported that Joseph Presley served as Postmaster in Andalusia and operated a general store.

Living near this family was the household of S. (or L.) B. Jeffers who was most likely another son of Gideon. S. or L. B. was 28 years old and a farmer. His wife, Sarahan, was 27 years old, and they had the following children with them: Elizabeth, 3; William, 2; and Rintha, 1. In the 1860 census of Covington County, S. or L.B. Jeffers was apparently deceased. His wife, Sarah A. was then 37 years old and had the following children with her: Rintha S., 11; James, 9; Mary Jane, 7; Thomas D., 6; and John L., 4. They were residing in the household of William Jones, 34, and his wife, Nancy E., 31.

Also in 1860, William J. Jeffries, a farmer who was 28 years old, was enumerated as a resident in the household of Charles and Mary Jones. Charles was 77 and a native of Ga., and Mary was 56. William J. Jeffries appears to be the son of Gideon and Sarah Jeffers.

It is difficult to accurately interpret the records for Sarah Jeffers during the mid-1800s since there were three different ones. One was Gideon Jeffers’s wife, one was his daughter who married Joseph Presley, and the other was Sarah Ann (Sarahan ?), wife of L.B. Jeffers.

In the previous year, 1859, Sarah A. Jeffers, who appears to be the widow of L.B. Jeffers, purchased two parcels of government land. She acquired 115 acres in the Rawls Township and 200 acres in the Dozier/ Rose Hill Township. Some years later in 1894, her son, Thomas D. Jeffers, homesteaded two tracts of land in the Gantt Township. He acquired 57 acres of land set aside for railroads and 76 other acres.

L.B. (Littleberry ?) and Sarahan Jeffers reared the following children: Elizabeth, b. ca 1847; William, b. ca 1848; Rintha S., b. 1849; James, b. ca 1851; Mary Jane, b. ca 1853; Thomas Darling, b. ca 1854, d. 1927, m. Sarah Missouri Tipton (1858-1921) ; and John L., b. ca 1866, m. Margaret M. ?.

The third son, Thomas Darling Jefferies, was married in 1882 to Sarah Missouri Tipton, daughter of Charles D. (1829-1864) and Aary Pinknia (Moore) (1835-1912) Tipton. They reared their family in the Gantt community, and they were buried at their deaths in the Mt. Zion Methodist Church Cemetery, which is located a little south of Straughn High School.

Thomas and Sarah Jefferies reared the following children: Isabell, b. 1883; Matilda, b. 1887; Minnie Lee, b. 1892, d. 1972, m. Henry Walter Streetman (1879-1958); John C., b. 1894; and Bertha M., b. 1896, d. 1956, m. Randle Raymond Miller (1893-1974). At their deaths, Thomas and Sarah were also buried in the Mt. Zion Methodist Church Cemetery.

Their daughter, Minnie Lee Jefferies, was married to Henry Walter Streetman, and they moved at some point to Hurtsboro, Russell County, Ala., where Minnie Lee died. They reared the following four children: Walter Hendricks, b. 1909, d. 1951; Thomas Alfred, b. 1811, d. 1985; Charles, b. 1918, d. 1972; and Annie Elizabeth, b. 1919, d. 1987.

Thomas and Sarah Jefferies’ youngest daughter, Bertha M. Jefferies, was married to Raymond Miller. They reared the following five children: Harold Thomas, b. 1919, d. 1945; Donal Jeffries, b. 1922, d. 1959; and three other children who are still living.

L.B. and Sarahan Jeffers’ youngest son, John L. Jefferies, and his wife, Margaret, resided in the Hart Community near Falco. They reared the following children: (Sarah ?) Rebecca, b. 1885; Maggie, b. 1888; Ella, b. 1889, d. 1985; Mollie, b. 1890; Thomas, b. 1892; Samuel, b. 1895; James E., b. 1897; Addie B., b. 1899; and Jadie, b. 1903.

A Sarah Rebecca Jeffries, who appears to be the daughter of the above John L. and Margaret Jeffers, was ca 1882 and died in 1957. She was married to Marion Thomas Worrell, son of Lewis Lafayette (1836- 1927)) and Georgia Ann (Coxwell) (1847-1910) Worrell. The Worrell family was featured in last week’s column. Rebecca and Marion Thomas Worrell reared the following children: Rebecca and Marion Thomas Worrell reared the following children: Margie Ella, b. 1905, m. Willie H. Cook (1905-1995); Nora Frances, b. ca 1908, d. ca 1976, m. Will Branum; Ebin Thomas, b. 1910, d. 1986, m. Louise Coxwell; George L., b. 1911, d. 1995, m. Lucinda Cook; Robert E., b. ca 1915, d. ca 1998, m. Mary Jane Mosley; Hattie Luella, b. 1920, m. Wolford Foster Coxwell; Ola Mae, b. 1913, d. 2000, m. Dudley William Crosby; and Lorene, b. ca 1928, m. Garnel(l) Cross McKathan.

The sources for this writing Ancestry.com, Dwain (Worrell) Bass’s family records, and Wyley Ward’s Original Land Sales and Land Grants in Covington County, Alabama.

Anyone who might have a correction to any of the above or additional information on this family is requested to contact Curtis Thomasson at 20357 Blake Pruitt Road, Andalusia, AL 36420; 334-222-6467; or email: cthomasson@centurytel.net.